As selection headaches go, it is not exactly as nagging as having to choose between Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert. Nor is it like living in fear of Fernando Torres picking up an injury that leaves David N’Gog as the squad’s only fit forward. Unlike his predecessors Jürgen Klopp is not weighed down by such concerns. Instead Liverpool’s manager has what he might describe as the rather cool dilemma of working out how to make the most of his enviable attacking options now that Sadio Mané is free from suspension and Philippe Coutinho is showing why Barcelona targeted him in the summer.
Klopp will have terrific fun arranging his forwards. Whom to leave out? Coutinho, the scorer of a stunning free-kick in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Leicester City, looks untouchable. But Mohamed Salah, who scored the opener with a header from Coutinho’s cross, is electric on the right, Mané’s potent speed terrifies defences and Roberto Firmino knits it all together with his slippery movement off the ball. The extra competition even seems to be stirring Daniel Sturridge, who came off the bench at the King Power Stadium to set up Jordan Henderson for Liverpool’s decisive third goal. Maybe the solution is to restore Mané against Spartak Moscow on Tuesday and turn Coutinho into Liverpool’s Andrés Iniesta by pulling him into midfield at the expense of Emre Can or Georginio Wijnaldum.
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